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Thursday, September 03, 2015

The 2014 RyMickey Awards - Most Overrated Film

With this category, it should be noted that I don't necessarily dislike the films listed below, it's simply that they were either huge critical or commercial successes that didn't exactly live up to their hype for me.

Most Overrated Films of 2014

Other Contenders (in alphabetical order)
Big Hero 6 (C+)    ----    The Boxtrolls (B-) (SoN)
Get On Up (D)   ----    Grand Budapest Hotel (B-)
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (B-) (SoN)    ----    Inherent Vice (D)
Love Is Strange (C+)    ----    Obvious Child (C-) (SoA)
Pride (C+)    ----    Wild (C+)

#5 - Boyhood -- B
After a slow start, Boyhood really kicked into gear.  While I would've much preferred this to win Best Picture over the eventual winner, there were still many other films I would've rather awarded the prize.

#4 - The Lego Movie -- C+
2014 was an incredibly poor year for animation.  Not a single animated film garnered a higher grade than a 'B-' from me.  The Lego Movie, however, was the biggest hit of them all and I found it rather empty and monotonous at times.  (SoN)

A fun romp, for sure, but I didn't quite understand all the hoopla surrounding it.  Sure, they injected a bit more humor into it than your typical Marvel movie, but the same formula was essentially followed.  The wheel wasn't exactly reinvented here.

#2 - American Sniper -- C+
How this became the #1 film of 2014 I'll never know.  While "acceptable," Clint Eastwood as a director fails to resonate with me, failing to create palpable excitement in his films and American Sniper is unfortunately no exception.

#1 - Birdman -- C+
In retrospect, I think my 'C+' rating is a bit high on this one, tainted by the fact that as I watched it, I felt as if I had to like it because all the other critics did.  Quite frankly, I just didn't get Birdman.  Perhaps a second watch may help me understand things more, but I don't want to give it a second go. Michael Keaton was solid and the unique direction helped things (and therein is the reason I went with the 'C+'), but beyond that, I found myself wondering why in the world this Best Picture winner was so amazing.

Previous Most Overrated Film "Winners"
2013
2012

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